SEEKONK - A proposed trip to the Big Apple for the eighth-grade class at Kevin Hurley Middle School was voted down by the school committee Monday night.

The trip was a three-day, two-night stay in New York City, featuring excursions to Ellis Island, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a Broadway show.

But, the cost per student was more than $500, a tab that raised eyebrows among school committee members.

A seventh-grade class made similar trip last year to Washington, D.C. But committee members noted that tough economic times would weigh heavily on parents, who would decide whether to spend the money.

Hurley Middle School Principal Joan Fargnoli told the committee 82 students would have to go on the trip to keep the cost under $600 per student. Superintendent Emile Chevrette expressed his discomfort with the trip, citing concerns about the cost and its impact on school attendance.

"We have to rethink the way we do things with the way the economy is," Chevrette said.

School committee member Bill Barker said it would be unfair to send some students on the trip, while their classmates, who might not be able to afford the expense, had to stay behind.

In the past, the eighth-grade students have traveled to Jamestown, R.I., for a whale watching trip. The school committee eliminated that trip last February because of a shortage of funds.